Complete the Egyptian alphabox as a table.

Egyptian Art What kind of art did the Egyptians create?

When did the Egyptian Civilization take place?  The Old Kingdom  BC  The Middle Kingdom   The New Kingdom  So this artwork is anywhere from years old!

Why did Egyptians create art?  Geographic location created a surplus of food which allowed Egyptians to create art instead of hunting and gathering.  Strong religious beliefs also contributed to a influx of creating artifacts  Fascination with the afterlife was also a focus of much of their artwork  Art and artifacts were also made to honor the Pharaoh (king)

What kind of art did they create?  Architecture-Pyramids were built as tombs for pharoahs  Sarcophagi- Stone coffins  Sculptures- Carvings of pharaohs’ portraits  Paintings-These were Actually painted, low relief Sculptures on the walls of tombs

Pyramids  The pyramids were used as entombment for the dead kings to provide protection and appropriate transformation into the afterlife for them and their belongings  Originally, Egyptians built low, flat tombs called mastabas  These slowly transitioned into stepped pyramids  Lastly, turned into the true pyramid

The Great Pyramids at Giza  BCE  4th Dynasty  Giza  Some stones weighed over 40 tons!  The stones were floated on rafts down the Nile  The largest, central pyramid, covers 13 acres and is 55 stories high  It originally contained over 2 million blocks of limestone

 The limestone and capstone were later stolen off the surface along with the pyramids contents  The pyramids are astonishing in size and mathematical precision  The four sides are perfectly oriented with the four cardinal directions  Each side is 230 meters long with only centimeters of difference  The pyramids were built by slaves and paid laborers who were faithful to their kings.

Tutankhamen Mummy Case  1352 BCE  Gold inlaid with enamel and semiprecious stones  The tomb of Tutankhamun contained four gilded shrines nested one inside the other in order of decreasing size. Inside the innermost shrine was a red quartzite sarcophagus which protected three coffins (man-shaped). The first two coffins were made of gilded wood but the final coffin was made of solid gold. The solid gold coffin housed the mummy of King Tut and his fabulous golden death mask.  73”  Egyptian Museum, Cairo  His modern fame and popularity stems from the fact that his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered almost completely intact, and is still the most complete ancient Egyptian tomb ever yet found. Valley of the KingsValley of the Kings  Ruled from age 8-18

Howard Carter found King Tut’s tomb in 1922

01 - most outer shrine 02 - linen pall 03 - inner second shrine 04 - inner third shrine 05 - inner most forth shrine 06 - granite sarcophagus 07 - coffin 08 - coffin 09 - coffin

The outermost coffin The 2 nd outermost coffin

Sculptures  Sculptors were commanded to carve pharaoh's portrait incase their mummified bodies were destroyed  The sculpture would serve as a place for their “ka”, or soul to live  Egyptian sculpture is characterized by (1) compactness (2) symmetry of form and (3) its block-like shape Queen Nefertiti Queen Nefertiti

The Seated Khafre  Khafre (Chefren or Chephren) Dynasty 3, c BCE  Solid-Blocklike form  Head is simplified (stylized)  Body is idealized(perfected)  Seated on a throne  Example of In-the-Round sculpture  In- the –Round sculpture Free-standing sculpture, sculpture that is surrounded on all sides, except the base, by space. It is also known as sculpture "in the round", and is meant to be viewed from any angle

 Standing (common pose), both have left foot forward  Figures are sculpted in the same height, provide a comparison of male and female beauty.  The stone from which they were created still is still visible, maintaining the block form.  These figures were meant to house the ka.  This was the stereotypical pose that symbolized marriage. Notice how the figures are idealized and emotionless. The artists depiction of these two people is indicative of the formula for depicting royalty in Egyptian Art.

The Sphinx- 66 feet tall and 240 feet long

The Sphinx   It has the body of a lion and the face of a man   It faces the sun and was thought to have been built as a temple to the sun god.   Stands guard over the tombs   It was buried in the sand for many years which helped to preserve it so that we can see it today

Relief Sculpture and Painting  low relief is the quality of a projecting image where the overall depth is shallow. The background is very compressed or completely flat, as on most coins, on which all images are in low- relief.  Covered the walls of tombs  The figures are placed in registers- a series of horizontal bands bands  Descriptive perspective- most important figures are shown larger than less shown larger than less important ones (to show social status) (to show social status)

 These paintings followed very specific rules  Every part of the body must be depicted in the most familiar point of view.  Frontality -legs, arms, and faces are in profile but with the shoulders and eyes seen from the front turned toward the viewer  Therefore the body looked distorted  They did this so that the “Ka” could recognize their bodies

 Register: the division of space used to divide the story of the ka’s life.

Hieroglyphics  Hieroglyphics (a form of picture writing) were used to help tell a story  A cartouche is an Egyptian nameplate  In the early days of ancient Egypt, a cartouche was attached to the coffins of kings and queens. As time went on, many people hired an artist to create a cartouche for their own coffin.  The ancient Egyptians believed that you had to have your name written down somewhere, so that you would not disappear when you died.  Today many people have golden cartouche Necklaces made to wear

Clay Cartouche Vocabulary  Cartouche-Egyptian nameplate  Hieroglyphics-Picture writing used by the Egyptians  Bas Relief Sculpture-A low sculpture projecting from a flat background  Slab- A flat sheet of clay  Coil- A snake like roll of clay  Score-roughing up the surface of clay with lines  Slip- watered down clay used when adhering two pieces of clay

 1. Roll a slab and cut out an oval using the template 2. Roll a coil 3. Score the slab and coil and put slip on one 4. Blend your coil onto your slab

What colors do Egyptians use in jewelry?